How to Reserve Your Copy of Windows 10 Today

Love it or hate it, Microsoft is trying to make it easier for consumers to get Windows 10. Unfortunately, the definition of try is to install a Windows Update that prompts you to reserve your copy of Windows 10 today. For some, this is an invasion of adware; for others, it’s a reminder that if you pre-download Windows 10 as soon as it’s available, you don’t have to fight the crowds downloading it on launch date.

Let’s look at how you can reserve your copy of Windows 10 today and avoid the hassle of release day. This’ll allow you to get started with Windows 10 as soon as the upgrade is complete.

Why Reserve Your Copy of Windows 10 Now?

If you pay attention to the Windows Update process, like you should, you may have noticed an oddball optional update (KB3035583) in April. This update affectionately known as the Get Windows App update went live this morning after Microsoft’s announcing the Windows 10 release date. Windows 10 will be released to consumers on July 29, 2015.

The biggest benefit of reserving your copy of Windows 10 is that you’ll be able to pre-download it when it’s finalized. This means instead of waiting forever on launch day to download, competing with everyone else doing the same thing, you’ll be able to install right at midnight on July 29th. This is the only real perk of reserving Windows 10, as of now.

Reserving Your Copy of Windows 10 Today

After the announcement today, you may have noticed a little Windows icon in your Notification Area. If you don’t see the icon, you may not have installed the update or you may not be on a version of Windows that’s eligible for upgrade.

This is the Get Windows App. Click on the icon to get started reserving your copy of Windows 10.

You’ll get a few slides talking about the benefits of upgrading to Windows 10 and what you can expect from its final release.

It doesn’t matter what slide you land on, click “Reserve your free upgrade to get started.”

You can enter any email address to get confirmation of when your copy of Windows 10 is ready to install. You can also sign up for other updates from Microsoft. You can use any email address for this; it doesn’t have to be your Microsoft Account.

You can also opt to skip the confirmation by clicking “Skip email confirmation.”

On the next screen, click “Close” and you’ve reserved your copy of Windows 10 to be pre-downloaded at a later date.

Unfortunately, the pesky Windows icon will stay in your Notification Area until you manually remove it.

If you open the reservation window again, you’ll see you can still look at the slides but you can’t reserve anymore because you already have.

Conclusion

In theory, being able to pre-download Windows 10 is a good idea. However, installing an optional update that consumers probably didn’t even realize was being installed wasn’t.

If Microsoft wants to regain consumer confidence, they need to stop doing what they think is right and do what is right by their customer base. Windows 10 will be released July 29, 2015. Will you be reserving your copy today?